Art of Japan and Isaac Newton (Rainbow and Rays)
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Ukiyo-e prints in this article focus on the rainbow and sun rays. The esteemed Isaac Newton studied a wealth of areas throughout his lifetime. Hence, he was an esteemed alchemist, astronomer, mathematician, and physicist who blessed this world – with his genius.
Newton said, “Plato is my friend, Aristotle is my friend, but my greatest friend is truth.”
Albert Einstein – on remarking on the genius of Newton – said: “No one must think that Newton’s great creation can be overthrown in any real sense by this [Theory of Relativity] or by any other theory. His clear and wide ideas will forever retain their significance as the foundation on which our modern conceptions of physics have been built.”
The first print by Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) is like a mirage because the original focuses on a kabuki scene that inspired many ukiyo-e printmakers. Nevertheless, through the prism of art, creativity, and artistic inventiveness – fused with time and space – it is like a scientist writing new ideas in bygone days when the eye observed naturally similar to Newton.
Newton wrote: “Do not the Rays of Light which fall upon Bodies, and are reflected or refracted, begin to bend before they arrive at the Bodies; and are they not reflected, refracted, and inflected, by one and the same Principle, acting variously in various Circumstances?”
In the second print by the acclaimed Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861), it is easy to imagine a youthful Newton utilizing the grandeur of nature and formulating new ideas.
The Smithsonian writes: “By scientifically establishing our visible spectrum (the colors we see in a rainbow), Newton laid the path for others to experiment with color in a scientific manner. His work led to breakthroughs in optics, physics, chemistry, perception, and the study of color in nature.”
The scientific intellect of Newton continues to amaze long after he parted from this world – similar to Galileo Galilei, Nicolaus Copernicus, and Albert Einstein.
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